31st Separate Company
the 31st Separate Company of Herkimer, New York, was an early pioneer in professional basketball and claimant of the New York State professional championship in 1900 and 1902 and of two Mohawk Valley League titles in 1908 and 1909. Like many early professional teams of the 1890s, the 31st Separate Company had its origins as a YMCA team. In the fall of 1891, the Herkimer YMCA basketball team was formed. According to the story by Frank J. Basloe in his 1952 memoirs, ‘’I Grew Up with Basketball, in January 1893, Herkimer YMCA visited Syracuse and played by the newly formed Syracuse YMCA. Herkimer won handedly, 12-4. Because of unruly behavior by some members of the Herkimer team in the Yates Hotel in Syracuse, the Board of Directors of the Herkimer YMCA disbanded the team. The Herkimer YMCA team, however, continued to stay together without YMCA sponsorship, calling themselves the Herkimer Team. The team met Utica YMCA in a game at the local opera house, and because the Herkimer team received payment for the game from the gate, Basloe contended that this was the first professional game. This claim has not been recognized by historians. In 1894 the Herkimer Team had moved to Mohawk, New York, to play in the newly constructed New York State Armory. With the move they played professionally under the name, 31st Separate Company. This is the story according to Basloe, but that seems to be far from the case. According to the Utica Daily Press, the Herkimer YMCA team stayed with YMCA sponsorship until around 1897, garnering a 35-2 during that period. The paper asserted that the team was reorganized as the 31st Separate Company in 1897. In 1900, George Sluyter was manager, and the team consisted of captain Lambert Will (who went way back to the team’s YMCA origins), Harry Stanchel, George Swartout, Tink Metzger, Fred Gray, and Toby Smith. That year the team claimed the New York State championship, based on victories over the Silent Five, the 23rd Street YMCA (which was probably playing under the Wanderers name), and various teams throughout the Mohawk Valley.In 1902, the 31st Company again claimed the New York state championship. The team that year consisted of Tobby Smith, Frank “Simp” Peterson, Turk Daly, String Caswell, George Shoemaker, and Tink Metzger. Managing the team was Bill Hartigan. This team disbanded in 1903. A new 31st Company team was established by Frank “Simp” Peterson, and included his brother Babe Peterson, and the Murname twins, Ed and Jim. This team in a three-year period established a 64-7 won-lost record. In the fall of 1906, Frank J. Basloe took over management of the 31st Separate team, and took the team barnstorming throughout New York and New England. In the 1907-08 and 1908-09 seasons, the 31st Separate Company won the Mohawk Valley League. The team during those years consisted of the brothers Mike Roberts, Mike Brothers, Jim Murnane, Bradley Hall, Raymond "Minn" Bradshaw, and Blubs Alberding. Besides the league games, Basloe took the team touring throughout the East, playing teams throughout New England and New York. Basloe briefly left basketball to go into vaudeville in the summer of 1909. In the 1909-10 season, he reorganized the 31st Separate Company. Members of the new team were Howard “Big Hass” Bradshaw, Jack Andre, Bradley Hall, James Conway, and Jim Murnane. The team in the 1910-11 season achieved achieved history in breaking the Buffalo Germans’ 111 winning streak of games without defeat in a game in February 1911.